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December 30, 2013

That's part 2 of the series in that I am trying to predict the composition of the referee team to be nominated for World Cup 2014. After having already concentrated on Asia, this text will now examine the situation in the African confederation CAF. The remaining confederations are
supposed to follow so that a final list of predicted World Cup referees
will emerge.

December 27, 2013

There have been contradictory announcements and rumours with regard to the date when Massimo Busacca and his crew decide on the 33rd team that will participate in 2014 FIFA World Cup. The referees and assistant referees are very likely going to be selected on 15 January. This means for us: time for predictions!

A safe bet for Brazil: Ravshan Irmatov

This text will focus on only one confederation - on the Asian Football Confederation. In the next days, the remaining confederations are supposed to follow so that a final list of predicted World Cup referees will emerge. In the following lists, you can find the cell "Community Vote". The percentages you can find there refers to our game "Your World Cup 2014" conducted at the beginning of this month. They hence equate the relative frequency of the respective referees' appearance in the community's World Cup lists. This means that this percentage shows in how many of your votes their name has appeared.

December 26, 2013

"From zero to hero" - that was a phrase issued by one member of this blog's community that perfectly circumscribes the past year 2013 for Dutch referee Björn Kuipers. He is today honoured by The Third Team and its community as the world's best Referee of the Year 2013.

December 22, 2013

The following lists expose subcategories for UEFA's First Group of referees. Since they have abolished the former "Elite Development Group" and as they have promoted 14 referees from Second Group to First Group, there are now 68 referees who heavily differ from each other in their background, experience and future prospect. Therefore, we present you the following four subcategories as a means to determine the 68 referees' classification in a more precise way.

Firat Aydinus is one of 68 First Group referees

It is unofficial and does not assert the claim to be totally correct. They are based on our analysis of their performances and chances within UEFA refereeing. You can use it as a tool while making predictions and to have a better overview on this quite large referee category.

December 20, 2013

Imagine a sliding tackle by a player in the midfield that is aimed at gaining possession of the ball in a fair manner but that is mistimed so that the opponent is obviously touched first - a compelling case, the referee has to award a direct free-kick in favour of the fouled player. Now imagine a goalkeeper coming out of his goal during a free-kick or corner kickin order to punch the high ball out of his penalty area. Instead of the ball, he however touches the opposite forward first. Is that still a compelling case? No, because there appear to exist different rules for goalkeepers.

This scenery circumscribed above is usually called "late challenge". Mostly, they can be categorized as careless tackles not mandatorily requiring a caution. Several situations at the highest level of football show that goalkeepers seem to savour a particular status, being kind of exception to the rule. Have a look at the following situations having occurred during the past months.

For this match situation, there is no video available. It was quite similar to the incidents given above. It was described like that by our blog observer: "Penalty appeal by away team. After a free-kick (foul) and a failed attempt by #1 (BVB) to play the ball, the GK fell on #6 (ARS) with a lot of force and without making an attempt to avoid his opponent. This situation is a penalty kick which wasn’t evaluated as such by the referee. AAR1 didn’t help him."

So in a nutshell: it seems to be an established phenomenon to grant goalkeepers an exceptional status in terms of late challenges. Personally, I have never seen a penalty whistled for such fouls by goalkeepers. And the question should be, why not? In all cases, the referees concerned did not even make a gesture to indicate that no foul has occurred. Thus, it is questionable whether they had any form of awareness for what had happened at all. In three of the four cases, the situations happened in the immediate and free line of sight of additional assistant referees. The system of additional assistant referees implies that they are referees themselves. Therefore, it is no surprise at all that they do not assist their teammate as it should be. Without any doubt, these situations go very quick; in most cases, there are fractions of a second between the contact with the opponent and the ball moving away which might arouse the impression that the goalkeeper had well cleared the ball.

What referees on this level should become aware of is that goalkeepers are not moving in a holy area. They may not be allowed to do everything just because they are doing so in their goal area. Referees should ask their additional assistant referees, if available, to pay attention to such infringements. Awarding penalty kicks as consequences of such fouls might lead to astonishment. But they would be the correct decisions.

December 19, 2013

Brazilian referee Sandro Meira Ricci has been appointed to handle the final match of the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, between FC Bayern München and Raja Casablanca, to be played on 21 December 2013 in Marrakech. He will be assisted by his countrymen Emerson de Carvalho and Marcelo Van Gasse.

Sandro Ricci at his first FIFA final (c) emol.com

A FIFA referee since 2011, he joined in 2013 the list of the preselected officials for 2014 WC. This is his second FIFA tournament, aftter the 2013 U20 WC held in Turkey, competition in which he officiated two group-stage matches, one quarterfinal and the third-place final. Prior to this assignment, the last CONMEBOL referee appointed for a FIFA final had beenMartín Vázquez from Uruguay, which handled the FIFA U17 WC Final in 2009. For Sandro Ricci, this will be the second match in the competition, after having refereed a quarterfinal. To complete the officiating crew for this final, Mark Geiger will act as fourth official and Sean Hurd as reserve assistant referee.

A few hours earlier, the third place final will be played in the same stadium, between Guangzhou Evergrande FC and Atletico Mineiro. The referee selected by FIFA for this clash is the Iranian Alireza Faghani, at his second match in this tournament, after a quarterfinal. Néant Alioum will take the duties of fourth official.

December 17, 2013

These are the updated referee categories determined on 17 December 2013. Several promotions, demotions and re-categorizations have been conducted, while Elite Development Group has been abandoned. We welcome all new FIFA referees, whose names are written in bold, in the international world of football refereeing and goodbye those who make place for young officials or have reached the age limit!

Spanish referee David Fernández Borbalán has emerged to be the only referee promoted to Elite Group as a result of the committee's meeting. Additionally, it seems as if UEFA has decided to abandon the Elite Development Group.

Maybe some of you remember the revolution in UEFA's referee category system a bit more than two years ago. In June 2011, just before "PLC" came into office, UEFA's referee committee and administration decided to abandon the former system consisting of an Elite Group, a Premier Development Group, a Premier Group and the categories 2, 3 and 4. Instead of that, the current pattern was implemented to establish a broad Elite Development Group including young and promising match officials who should be accompanied on their way up to Elite - as the term already suggests. If further evidence was needed to recognize that this decision was fatally wrong, just focus on this Champions League 2013/14 group stage.

Considering the performances shown by some - but definitely not all (e.g. Mažić is a positive example) - Elite Development referees during the past two seasons, it is clearly visible that most of them are lacking in experience, mental stability and security. All these aspects are linked with each other. At the same time, there is no doubt that many of them are highly talented and originally deserved to have their place in this group. Assumed that the men in charge of the selection process, that brought these officials into their current category, did well when choosing referees like Tom Harald Hagen, Bas Nijhuis or Marijo Strahonja, the reasons for struggling at the highest level must have different reasons than their mere quality. The referee named first is a perfect example of that.

Norwegian Tom Hagen became an international referee in 2009. During the first two and a half years, he passed the lowest three groups including Cat. 4, 3 and 2 in order to become promoted to First Group in June 2011. He was given exactly four months to develop before he was appointed for his first Champions League match. And that was not in Plzen, Cluj or somewhere else. That was in Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan. In January 2012, he was then qualified for the next promotion as one of many officials who were included in the new Elite Development Group - he is there since today. The problems started then. For example, his team committed three crucial mistakes in Valencia-BATE underlined by UEFA's official match situation analysis given to their referees at a seminar in January 2013. A violent conduct was missed, a wrong penalty kick was awarded following a foul that clearly happened outside the penalty area and another clear penalty was missed directly in front of him. This season, our reports again captured three 7.8 performances for unfortunately inconsistent performances due to crucial mistakes. It was furthermore pointed out that we considered Hagen as a good referee in theory, but as one who has problems to cope with difficult matches and to approach a match with a self-confident and assured personality. Finally, last week, he was then assigned to handle Real Sociedad - Bayer Leverkusen under the observation of Pierluigi Collina. On the assumption that PLC does not plan him for a final, this circumstance probably means that Hagen might face a demotion (or a promotion, which is however not likely). This match under Collina's monitoring was one of those with a crucial mistake - in this case, it was a missed red card for serious foul play.

In a couple of days, we'll see what will happen with officials like Hagen. He is only one referee of many who were "burnt" by UEFA's category system. UEFA's referee convention clearly states that "possibilities for
fast-track promotions should be made possible". That is a problem. Instead of a pace-based strategy, UEFA should pay more attention to an experience-based and quality-based strategy. Haste makes waste. Referees like Hagen (or Nijhuis etc.) were never given a real chance to develop due to the immense pressure arousing from this Elite Development Group. You normally stay approximately two years in this category status. You won't get many chances to convince the committee of your abilities. So you must do well, you must get a good mark. Instead of focussing on the match, you might focus on your mark average. Once a 7.8 occurred, that may not happen again. And then, it happens again and, oh God, Collina or Dallas is sitting in the stadium next time. This pressure lies in the system and overshadows the referees' concentration on the real task - handling a football match as good as possible and still enjoying this task. I don't know whether you ever watched a Champions League match refereed by Bas Nijhuis. His facial expressions and appearance suggest everything, but not joy for his task. However, one should say in all clarity that some performances really suggest that the official concerned is not able to cope with the highest international level for whatever reason. With all due respect, fairness commands that this phenomenon also seems to be apparent in broad parts of the Elite Group and even Champions League final referee teams. Anyway, in my opinion, the Elite Development Group has come to a dead end. It sets wrong incentives and is psychologically critical.

Elite Development Group has come to a dead end

Strong rumours have been raised that UEFA would soon abandon the Elite Development Group and extend their Elite Group to a higher number of officials. Upon The Third Team's request, UEFA neither wanted to confirm nor to refute that. Personally, I hope that a category change will come for the reasons mentioned above. Additionally, keeping the current system would mean several demotions if UEFA is consistent with their reports and marks. However, in First Group, there are not enough referees ready for a promotion to Elite Development. They need time (Kruzliak, Liany, Makkelie, Marciniak, Oliver, Zwayer etc.) to avoid what happened to Hagen et al. With a new system, referees like Aytekin, Bebek, Fernández or Orsato maybe move up (also due to their nationality). They would be given some sort of safety in this group, would have some seasons to develop in Champions League, to collect experience, to gain mental confidence and thus would not always face the typical promotion-or-demotion-process. Others would be demoted or re-categorized. And this is a fine difference: it would be very hard to explain someone like ,for example, Matej Jug or Sergei Karasev, who were promoted only last June, that they have to go back into First Group again. They have shown two good last seasons and would not deserve a "demotion". This must be sold and conducted as a "re-categorization" then.

Such a system change has also consequences in terms of payment, i.e. salaries. So it is definitely not a thing that can be decided in a moment. I am very sure that Collina, Infantino and co. will, as usual, consider the "big whole" and come to a good conclusion.

December 10, 2013

According to Árbitro Internacional, Gambian official Bakary Gassama has been appointed by FIFA for the opener match of 2013 CWC, to be played between Raja Casablanca (MAR) and Auckland City (NZL) on 11 December 2013. The match will be a play off for the qualification to quarterfinals. Despite of the fact that a tean from the African confederation will be involved, FIFA has immediately broken the confederations criterion, which might have not allowed a referee from CAF to handle this match.

In addition to that, Evarist Menkouande from Cameroon will join the CAF trio as AR2, due to the injury suffered by the preselected assistant Felicien Kabanda from Rwanda. This is another significant change in FIFA referees policy, since in the past years, due to an injury, the whole trio was forced to stay out from a certain competition.

Bakary Gassama (c) ghanamma.com

The officiating crew will be completed by Carlos Velasco Carballo from Spain, acting as fourth official, and his countryman Roberto Alonso Fernández as reserve assistant referee.

December 9, 2013

UEFA has revealed all the officials appointed for the last Matchday
of
2013-14 UEFA Europa League. Among the other names, Dutch Elite officialBjörn Kuipers will take control of the clash between Dinamo Kyiv and Rapid Wien, meanwhile the Category 2 referee Steven McLean will have his debut in this phase of the tournament.

Scottish official Steven McLean at his debut in EL group stage (c) videocelts.com

Contrary to the latest piece of news that Greek Kyros Vassaras was about to leave UEFA's referee committee, which was previously issued here on the basis of an official UEFA document dealing with the composition of the federation's bodies and committees, it has now turned out that Vassaras will definitely stay in the referee committee.

Upon The Third Team's request, UEFA confirmed that "the name of Mr. Vassaras was not included in the list by mistake". They regretted this error and will update the document in due course.

So nothing has changed in the committee's composition. It still consists of the following members:

UEFA has released the second package of referee appointments for the final matchday of this season's Champions League group stage. Among others, Aleksandar Stavrev from Macedonia will face a vitally important test in Vienna being observed by UEFA Committee member David Elleray.

December 8, 2013

Big pressure for Tom Harald Hagen: UEFA Refereeing Chief Officer Pierluigi Collina will observe his performance in next Tuesday's Champions League match between Real Sociedad and Bayer Leverkusen. Furthermore, David Fernández Borbalán has the honour to take charge of a top clash in Munich. Finally, Damir Skomina's assistant referee Matej Žunič seems to have been replaced following the incidents in the World Cup Play-Off match in France. These are the complete appointments:

December 7, 2013

It seems as if there has been a change in the constellation of UEFA's Referee Committee. Former EURO 2008 referee Kyros Vassaras of Greece is not appearing in the updated list of the committee's members of the 5th December 2013.

Having been specially responsible for youth tournaments, where he was frequently present as coordinator and observer, Vassaras seems to have quit the committee for so far unknown reasons. According to the document issued by Europe's football governing body, there is nobody replacing him. A statement by UEFA is awaited and will be communicated here as soon as issued.

December 6, 2013

With today's FIFA drawing at Brazil's Bahia, Árbitro Internacional and The Third Team will start to intensely follow the road to World Cup 2014. As a starting shot for feeling the spirit of the next World Cup, we ask you!

Feel free to assemble your personal refereeing team you would nominate for the biggest football event of the world - naturally with a few limitations and restrictions in terms of the amount of match officials to be selected per confederation. In a second step, you will find an overview about the matches drawn tonight. Based on the referees selected by you, you can assign these officials to these matches. In a final step, you can compare your ideas with those of other members of the community. Your lists and fictive appointments will be integrated into our blogs' analyses coming during the next months.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has called for timeouts at next summer's World Cup to ensure players remain hydrated.

Prandelli is concerned about how the climate in Brazil will affect
players, with temperatures and humidity expected to be high across a
number of the cities.

"I'd like to propose timeouts for rehydration breaks," he said. "There
are two big problems in Brazil and that is the heat and the humidity,
which are worryingly high in certain cities and we felt that during the
Confederations Cup."

Italy struggled with tiredness and cramps during last summer's dress
rehearsal tournament in Brazil, learning what to expect in 2014 and how
to prepare better.

Prandelli feels everybody would benefit from having additional breaks
during matches, although simply placing bottles of water behind the
goals, like last summer, is not the solution.

"If you look at the video footage [of the Confederations Cup], you see
that everybody was dashing for a drink every time there was a corner,"
Prandelli said at a news conference in Rome on Tuesday, prior to the
departure for Friday's draw in Brazil.

"The risk is people will start kicking the ball out for a corner just
to have a drink. Timeouts would be better. If we want to provide the
world with a spectacle, then we need to give the players the chance to
provide it."
FIFA General Secretary Valcke has insisted on the referees' duty to decide on that by declaring that timeouts will remain at the referees' discretion. If the referee or the stadium's medical responsible feel that timeouts are necessary for climatic reasons, they might be included in the match time, as "they have to decide whether the conditions are adequate and how many breaks are needed".